7.28.2009

Gary

During my recent trip to the midwest I decided to take a detour into the city of Gary, Indiana. I have passed by Gary on Interstate 80 countless times on my way to and from Chicago and it had always been a place I wondered about. Finally I stopped wondering and learned what sad sad shape this town is in. I was expecting a functioning, primarily black city -scraping by something along the lines of Newark. What I found instead was a dead city with almost no economy to speak of being slowly but unmistakably reclaimed by nature. Gary is home to US Steel and as most of you know those manufacturing jobs have been leaching away year after year. I left Gary feeling depressed and cynical. Gary was crucial in giving Indiana to Obama and all I could think was this president probably isn't going to help this town and its people anymore than the last one...